State of Illinois, Chicago Public Schools and Harris Make List of Top Purchasers of Green Power

CHICAGO (Aug. 11, 2010) — The state of Illinois, Chicago Public Schools and Harris N.A. have made the list of the nation’s top 50 green power partners using the most renewable electricity, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today.

Of the three, the state of Illinois came in highest on the list at number 23. The state purchases 176 million kilowatt-hours of green power annually, about 33 percent of its purchased electricity use.

While Chicago Public Schools rank 35 on the Top 50 list, the district tops the list of K-12 schools purchasing green power. Chicago Public Schools purchase approximately 108 million kilowatt-hours of green power annually, enough to meet 20 percent of the district’s purchased electricity use.

“Chicago Public Schools, as well as the other Chicago-area partners, are teaching an important lesson by changing how they purchase electricity,” said Cheryl Newton, EPA regional Air Division Director. “All of EPA’s Green Power Partners are raising the bar for clean, renewable energy use.”

Harris N.A. is ranked number 42 on the Top 50 list, purchasing approximately 91 million kilowatt-hours of green power annually, enough to meet 100 percent of its purchased electricity use.

EPA’s Green Power Partnership works with more than 1,200 organizations to voluntarily purchase green power and reduce the environmental impacts of conventional electricity use. Green power is generated from renewable resources such as solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, biogas and low-impact hydropower. Green power electricity generates less pollution than conventional power and produces no net increase in greenhouse gas emissions.The green power purchases support the development of new, renewable generation resources nationwide.

Together, the Green Power Partnership’s top purchasers use more than 17 billion kilowatt-hours of green power annually, equivalent to the annual carbon dioxide emissions from the electricity use of more than 1.5 million average American homes. More information on EPA’s Green Power Partnership: http://www.epa.gov/greenpower.# # #